Abstract:
Giuseppe Verdi was one of the most successful opera composers of the 19th century. His operas, including Rigoletto, La traviata, and Otello, are still frequently performed in opera houses around the world. In comparison, his 27 art songs are far less known and rarely performed. The purpose of this project was to develop a comprehensive guide to Verdi’s art songs for teaching and performing. This guide examines Verdi’s 26 published art songs to highlight their value as a pedagogical bridge between lighter and heavier repertoire and to encourage the study and performance of these pieces. The songs are discussed in terms of their composition and publication history and musical and text analyses, including examination of melody, harmony, rhythm, tempo, text, and form. Additionally, direct comparisons between the art songs and opera arias confirm the benefit of the art songs as training pieces for future performance of opera arias. Pedagogical and performance recommendations are also provided for each song. This guide highlights Verdi’s relatively unknown art songs, provides a resource for the vocal pedagogy and performance community, and encourages the study and performance of these pieces by students and professional singers.
